There was a common perception among Timberwolves coaches and players about Darko Milicic after his first full day of practice with the team: The guy can actually play.

Three months have passed since Milicic, acquired Wednesday in a trade with the New York Knicks, appeared in an NBA game. The 7-foot native of Serbia struggled with his conditioning Saturday but showed enough potential to help the Wolves (13-43) once he gets in shape.

“He was scoring on all of us in the post,” Wolves forward Kevin Love said of Milicic. “When he didn’t score a couple of times, he got upset. That’s the kind of thing you like to see.”

Milicic’s motivation to perform might have been the key evaluation point for Wolves players and coaches. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft has been frustrated with the lack of playing time he’s received in a seven-year career spent with four teams. The 24 year-old center, a left-handed shooter, is thinking about leaving the NBA after the season and trying to relaunch his career in Europe.

The Wolves are doing their best to make Milicic feel welcome — and happy. Since arriving in the Twin Cities on Friday, the club has kept him away from the media and waived the mandatory physical that players must undergo to finalize a trade. Milicic’s first meaningful practice in weeks revived his passion.

“It looked to me like he was having fun and enjoying playing again,” Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said. “It’s very clear that he picks up stuff really easy. He understands the game.”

Rambis remained unsure if Milicic would play in tonight’s game against Oklahoma City at Target Center. Rambis wants to see how Milicic’s body responds to Saturday’s extensive workout and this morning’s shootaround.

After Saturday’s practice, Milicic worked for an additional 45 minutes in one-on-one drills with center Ryan Hollins and backup forward Oleksiy Pecherov. Milicic was winded after the session.

“Generally, it takes a player six to eight weeks to get in shape, but we don’t have time to do that,” Rambis said. “He’ll have to push himself through it. We just want him to get a rhythm going and gain some confidence.”

Love’s response: When told that Rambis was critical of him for not “playing hard through his frustration” in Friday night’s loss to Chicago, Love seemed to meet Rambis halfway on the comment.

“It’s a good thing when I get upset when things don’t go right for me,” Love said. “I just can’t let it affect my game, but last night it did. It’s not a reoccurring thing. It was just one of those nights for me.”

Love played only 1:48 of the fourth quarter against the Bulls. He was 3 for 11 shooting and finished with nine points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Love has not reached 30 minutes in six consecutive games. He was hopeful of getting 30-plus minutes a game after Rambis decided to bring him off the bench since the Jan. 29 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jawai’s D-League return: Rambis saw the stat line for Wolves backup center Nathan Jawai in Friday night’s game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the NBA’s Developmental League and said the numbers were “less than stellar.”

Jawai played 29 minutes in Sioux Falls’ 119-118 win over the Dakota Wizards and finished with six points (3 for 7 shooting), three rebounds, two assists and three turnovers.

The 6-10 Jawai was sent to Sioux Falls to help give him some playing time, at least 30 minutes in his two games with the Skyforce. He had not played in 10 of the Wolves’ previous 12 games.

Jawai, who played in the D-League with the Idaho Stampede in 2009, was scheduled to play with the Skyforce Saturday night against Dakota. He will rejoin the Wolves for tonight’s game.

Briefly: Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant, averaging 29.7 points, is setting a rare standard for players averaging 29 points or better at age 21 or younger.

Durant, 21, ranks second in the NBA in scoring behind Cleveland’s LeBron James (30.1). James is the only other NBA player to have a higher scoring average than Durant at age 21. In 2005-06, James averaged 31.4 points.

Up next: vs. Thunder, 6 tonight, KSTC Ch. 45, KFAN-AM 1130

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